Strong is happy for Kellie

A Dukinfield woman is hoping to inspire more women to get lifting in the gym.

Kellie Hett found strength training about a year and a half ago after going from a size 16 to a size six.

She said: “My life in general before this consisted of watching TV, smoking and eating things that weren’t good for me, I was a bit lazy. I gave up smoking after 22 years and I got into exercise and did a lot of cardio which meant I lost a lot of weight, but I went too far and didn’t feel good.”

After a friend invited her to try strength training Kellie found her niche.

She said: “I was pretty scared, but I started once a week, then moved to two and 19 months on I’m training 6 nights a week and it is a part of my life.”

Kellie would now like to encourage other women to join her.

She said: “It would be great to see more girls lifting in the gym. I think, like I used to, that a lot of women worry they don’t know what they are doing or that they will get really big, but that’s not the case. It can be intimidating walking into the weights section at a gym especially when the majority there using it are men, but what I have learned is that at the end of the day we are all there to train, get fit and learn.”

Kellie is now having PT sessions with iTrain’s PT Mike Howarth to learn more about power lifting.

She said: “I’m not always confident in the gym and Mike is really helping me with that. All of this has helped me through some really difficult times, it has kept me sane because when I come in everything outside goes away and I’m in my own zone focusing on my training.

“Seeing changes in my body regularly really spurs me on to continue. It isn’t until I look back at pictures of myself that I see how far I’ve come and the work I have put in. My family and friends are proud of me and they are happy that I’m happy.”

“As for people who are unsure of getting active, Kellie said: “Just go for it, coming through those gym doors is a massive step already, but there is only you that can do it, you just have to find the right way to fit it into your life. For me it isn’t a chore, it is something I love doing.”